Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig

White Ginger Lily

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

White Ginger Lily is an introduced herbaceous perennial in the Ginger family (Zingiberaceae). It is listed as native from India through South Asia, but its original natural range is uncertain due to a long history of cultivation. White Ginger Lily is frequently grown in gardens in the warmer parts of the state and has been collected as an escape in several counties in southwest Alabama. White Ginger Lily occurs along streams, in swamps, and in wet roadside ditches. It is a perennial from a thick rhizome. The rhizomes are brittle and tan in color on the outside and white on the inside. Each rhizome gives rise to one or more pseudostems. These are not true stems, but result from the wrapped bases of the leaves. The pseudostems are from 3-10 feet in height. Leaves are alternate along the pseudostem and two-ranked. Leaf blades are oblanceolate to elliptic in outline, glabrous, with entire margins. Flowers are produced in a dense terminal cone-like inflorescence. Each large green bract of the inflorescence subtends 1-6 flowers that open one at a time. The flowers are white in color and perfect. The lower portion of the corolla is tubular and the upper portion is divided into three lobes. Each flower has four petaloid staminodes and one functional stamen. The fruit is a capsule with several seed. The seed are covered by a fleshy orange-red aril. Flowers are very fragrant. White Ginger Lily is available from many nurseries growing “tropical” plants. They prefer a semi-shaded location with a loamy soil and abundant moisture. White Ginger Lily is the national flower of Cuba. It is listed as an invasive species in Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, and Hawaii. The sweet-scented flowers are popular in leis. The rhizomes have a spicy flavor and are sometimes eaten.--A. Diamond

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Not Native

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